Automation Could Set Us Free — If We Didn’t Live Under Capitalism
Under capitalism, automation destroys jobs. Under socialism, it would be an instrument of liberation.
19546 Articles by: Christina Groeger
Cristina Groeger is a history professor at Lake Forest College and a member of the Chicago Democratic Socialists of America.
Narendra Modi Is Developing a New Template for Authoritarian Control of the Internet
Narendra Modi’s government has launched a relentless clampdown in a bid to suppress its critics. As part of this drive, it is developing new tools to stifle free expression on the internet while extending the reach of online surveillance over India’s citizens.
The US Left Must Rebuild Broken Links to Soldiers and Veterans
While the armed forces carry out the mission of US imperialism, millions of working people sit at the heart of that machine, drawn to become soldiers by the promise of economic stability. A Left looking to rebuild links with the working class can’t avoid them.
Our Epidemic of Mass Shootings Is Traumatizing a Generation and Threatening Democracy
The number of mass shootings continues to soar in the US — not just costing lives, but traumatizing our youth and undermining the basis for a free society. To stop the epidemic, we need a truly democratic transformation of our country’s political institutions.
Ecuador’s “Blue” Bond Deal Won’t Save the Galapagos
In exchange for a reduction of the national debt, Ecuador has ceded sovereign control of the Galapagos Islands to an independent trust based in the United States. The trust promises to invest sustainably — but no one can make it follow through.
Left-Wing Media Is Expanding Its Reach in Canada
To amplify their impact, two Canadian left-wing publications, Passage and the Maple, have recently merged. We spoke with Alex Cosh, news editor of the Maple, about the merger, their mission, and the state of both mainstream and left-wing media.
The Party Was Not Always Right
The tragedies, brutalities, and absurdities of Stalinism are all there onscreen in Costa-Gavras’s classic 1970 film The Confession.
In France, Secularism Is a Justification for Discrimination Against Muslims
Growing up in the US, I admired France’s secular vision of social democracy. But teaching in Lyon’s working-class suburbs taught me that, in practice, laïcité is a rallying cry for a Right desperate to exclude Muslims from public life.
How Hindu Nationalists Became Best Friends With Israel
Narendra Modi’s friendship with Benjamin Netanyahu may seem to clash with India’s historic anti-colonial stances. Yet their collaboration is rooted in a long history of Hindutva admiration for Zionist ethnonationalism.
Ontario’s Family Doctor Shortage Is Putting Lives on the Line
Ontario’s doctor deficit has left 2.2 million people without a primary care physician. The shortage, a consequence of for-profit models, worsens health issues, strains emergency departments, and fuels the vulture-like leveraging of profit-driven “solutions.”
Pablo Picasso Was a Communist. Why Don’t We Ever Talk About This?
In the imbroglio over Pablo Picasso’s misogyny and many personal flaws, the memory of his unabashed leftist politics has been lost — and with it our ability to fully consider his place in history.
In This Is Not Miami, Fernanda Melchor Transforms Violence Into Folklore
The Mexican journalist turned novelist Fernanda Melchor’s This Is Not Miami looks unsentimentally at crime and violence. Unable to address its structural causes, Melchor’s characters create mythical explanations of human cruelty.
Issue 49: Inside the Teamsters’ Preparations for a UPS Strike
This summer could see 350,000 UPS workers walk off the job in the United States’ largest strike in decades. The Teamsters are getting ready. Here’s a look at how.
With the Debt Ceiling Deal, Joe Biden Has Abandoned Student Debtors
As part of the debt ceiling deal, Joe Biden forfeited his authority to help student debtors and set a ticking time bomb for tens of millions of Americans whose student loan payments are about to restart.
GOP Candidate Vivek Ramaswamy Wants Real-Life Starship Troopers
Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy thinks young people should earn the right to vote by joining the army, like in the sci-fi classic Starship Troopers. It’s a political nonstarter, but it says a lot about how conservatives see the world.
Barack Obama’s New Netflix Series Shows That He Has Critiques but No Answers
While it’s always refreshing to see the lives of working people centered in our media, the docuseries Working: What We Do All Day is hampered by the limitations of its host and narrator, former president Barack Obama.
The Recent SCOTUS Ruling Against Unions Was Bad. But It Could’ve Been Far Worse.
The Supreme Court’s Glacier pro-employer ruling this week opens the door to further erosion of workers’ rights to strike. But the right to walk off the job is far from extinguished in the US, and workers shouldn’t let the court scare them away from doing so.
The US Is Punishing Cuba to Send a Message to the Whole World
The original goal of the United States blockade against Cuba was to worsen conditions and inspire Cubans to overthrow their government. Regime change hasn’t been forthcoming. Now the US maintains the devastating sanctions as a threat to other nations.
Rabble Rousers Shows How Activists Beat the Rich to Build Social Housing in New York City
The documentary Rabble Rousers tells the story of the New York activists who overcame enormous odds to build the Cooper Square community land trust — and points to the limits of movements that don’t contend for broader control over the state and capital.
One Hundred Years of Mrinal Sen
This year marks the centennial of Mrinal Sen, one of India’s most brilliant Marxist filmmakers. His work combined a formal inventiveness that rivaled that of the French New Wave with an unflinching commitment to attacking the hypocrisies of India’s elite.